Apple Orchard Information for Beginners
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The UVM Apple Program: Extension and Research for the commercial tree fruit grower in Vermont and beyond... Our commitment is to provide relevant and timely horticultural, integrated pest management, marketing and economics information to commercial tree fruit growers in Vermont and beyond. If you have any questions or comments, please contact us. UVM Apple Team Members Dr. Lorraine Berkett, Faculty ([email protected] ) Terence Bradshaw, Research Technician Sarah Kingsley-Richards, Research Technician Morgan Cromwell, Graduate Student Apple Orchard Information for Beginners..... [The following material is from articles that appeared in the “For Beginners…” Horticultural section of the 1999 Vermont Apple Newsletter which was written by Dr. Elena Garcia. Please see http://orchard.uvm.edu/ for links to other material.] Websites of interest: UVM Apple Orchard http://orchard.uvm.edu/ UVM Integrated Pest Management (IPM) Calendar http://orchard.uvm.edu/uvmapple/pest/2000IPMChecklist.html New England Apple Pest Management Guide [use only for biological information] http://www.umass.edu/fruitadvisor/NEAPMG/index.htm Cornell Fruit Pages http://www.hort.cornell.edu/extension/commercial/fruit/index.html UMASS Fruit Advisor http://www.umass.edu/fruitadvisor/ 1/11/2007 Page 1 of 15 Penn State Tree Fruit Production Guide http://tfpg.cas.psu.edu/default.htm University of Wisconsin Extension Fruit Tree Publications http://learningstore.uwex.edu/Tree-Fruits-C85.aspx USDA Appropriate Technology Transfer for Rural Areas (ATTRA) Fruit Pages: http://www.attra.org/horticultural.html _____________________________________________________ Considerations before planting: One of the questions most often asked is, "What do I need to do to establish a small commercial orchard?" The success of an orchard is only as good as the planning and site preparation that goes into it. One important factor you should think about is whether the location or the tract of land you have selected meets certain economic criteria and environmental criteria. Economics • Availability of money: If you have to borrow money to start an orchard, is there a bank or some type of lending institution near you which understands and will be able to meet your needs? • Availability of resources and supplies: How far will you have to drive to buy your orchard supplies? How long will you have to wait for your orchard supplies? • Cooperatives: Is there a group in your area with whom you can join forces to buy supplies or market your fruit? • Professional groups: Are there university personnel or private consultants near you who can make regular visits to your orchard or be easily accessible to answer your questions? • Marketing: How do you plan to market your fruit? Will the population in the area support your type of marketing strategies? The marketing avenue you select will determine your rootstock and cultivar selection • Transportation. How far is the orchard from packing houses? Are the roads in good condition to transport your fruit? If you choose to have a pick-your-own operation, is your location easily accessible? Environment • The temperature parameters of a location are critical for fruit production. • The state of Vermont is at the temperature limits for apple production. Trying to grow apples in Hardiness Zone 3 is very risky. • Other climatic consideration include: 1/11/2007 Page 2 of 15 Spring frosts: If the site is prone to spring frost, you may lose your crop before it begins to grow. Heavy winds: Heavy winds may break the graft union or make your trees lean. This breaks the roots and weakens the anchorage of the roots to the soil. Site Selection Once you have considered the above economic and environmental factors, you will be selecting a site. Site refers to the way the tract of land is in relation to the environment surrounding it. These are some things you should consider in selecting a site: • Slopes: The ideal site should be on rolling or elevated land so that cold air can drain during spring frost. A 4% to 8% slope is ideal. A steeper than 10% slope may make it difficult to operate machinery. Avoid areas at the bottom of the hill where cold air settles and frost pockets form. • Slope exposure: A south facing slope receives more sun, thereby warming faster in the spring. A north facing slope will be colder, warming up late in the spring. • Soil considerations: Soils provide anchorage, nutrients, water, and the biotic environment in which the trees will live. Deep, sandy clay loam soils are best for orchard sites. • Before selecting a site, consult a county survey map. Soil survey maps are available at most Soil Conservation Services in Vermont. These publications are valuable in determining if your site has the requirements for a long-term, viable orchard operation. • Soil drainage is probably the most important factor in the longevity of an orchard. If the soil does not have good drainage, there are some options available, such as tiling , but they cost money to implement. • If possible, use a backhoe to dig holes 5 to 7 feet deep so that the soil profile can be examined. Poorly drained soils often have horizontal layers of light colored material. • Soil fertility is important, but not as important as drainage. Soil fertility can often be corrected by applying fertilizers and by increasing the amount of organic matter. Of all the decisions you make in establishing your orchard, choosing the correct site and location has the greatest long-term impact. An orchard is a long-term venture; it may be productive for 30 to 75 years, and in some instances, even longer. It is necessary to make educated and well informed decisions in selecting the location and site of your future orchard. 1/11/2007 Page 3 of 15 Soil Preparation Soil preparation should be done in the fall before planting. This is the time to do a soil test to determine the needs of your soil. This way you have time to correct any deficiencies and improve soil fertility. Correcting the soil pH is one of the most effective nutrient management practices to improve fertility in an apple orchard. Try to maintain the soil pH in the range of 6.0 for the subsoil to 6.5 for the topsoil because the pH influences the availability of the various elements to the plant. For example, as the soil pH becomes acidic (pH <5.5), the phosphorous in the soil becomes unavailable to the plant. It does not matter if there is an adequate amount of phosphorous in the soil; the roots are unable to uptake it, or some elements become toxic at high or low pH. Correcting the soil pH needs to be done before planting because once the trees are in place, it is very difficult to change it. In regions with acidic soils, lime, preferably dolomitic for apple orchards, is usually used to raise the pH. Other ways to improve soil fertility include: • Addition of organic matter • Maintenance of good tilth • Crop rotation • Erosion control • Addition of nutrients when needed Cultivar and Rootstock Selection Selecting and ordering the cultivars and the rootstocks you will be planting is a decision that should be given much consideration. It should also be done in the fall. For large plantings or custom orders, this is done two years in advance. There are approximately 10,000 apple cultivars and 20 rootstocks commercially available. On what basis do you decide what to plant? The following is a list of factors to consider when selecting a cultivar: • Marketability of the cultivar. Is this cultivar well known? Or will you have to develop a market for this cultivar? How will you sell it? Does it fit a niche market? • Adaptability to the region. Here in Vermont, the issue of winter hardiness needs to be considered very seriously. • Uses. Determining your marketing avenues will help decide on what cultivars to plant. • Maturity. Depending on the marketing plans you have for your apples, it might be advantageous to have cultivars ripening at different times. When selecting a rootstock to use for the cultivar you have chosen, consider 1/11/2007 Page 4 of 15 what effect the rootstock is going to have on the aerial portion of the tree. The genetic control of the rootstock on the cultivar include: • Size. The overall size of an apple tree will be greatly determined by the rootstock, but you must consider the cultivar that will be grafted onto the rootstock. You may not want to have a low vigor cultivar grafted unto a very dwarfing rootstock because the result may a very 'runted' tree • Date of bloom and amount of bloom. Some rootstocks may delay or hasten bloom. • Precocity. Precocity or ability to bear fruit early is one of the advantages associated with some rootstocks, particularly the more dwarfing stocks. • Winter hardiness. Winter hardiness of the rootstock is important to consider here in Vermont. Some rootstocks are slower at 'hardening' for winter and might be killed if an early frost occurs. • Resistance. As you are able to choose disease resistant cultivars, so may you chose disease resistant rootstocks to such diseases as fireblight and collar rot. To get more information on potential cultivar and rootstock for Vermont, check our websites at : http://orchard.uvm.edu/uvmapple/hort/cultivars/index.htm and http://orchard.uvm.edu/uvmapple/hort/Rootstocks/index.html The following information on rootstocks is taken from the 2006-2007 Penn State Tree Fruit Production Guide (http://tfpg.cas.psu.edu/138.htm). Underlined rootstocks are recommended in Vermont. Rootstocks to control tree size have been used in apple production for over 2,000 years. The clonal apple rootstocks that we use in the United States have traditionally originated in Europe.